Episode VII rumors: Another classic planet returns, von Sydow's role and more

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We're still not in possession of very much official knowledge about Episode VII. We know who's in it, we know who some of those people are playing, and we know when the film's set. That's pretty much it at this point, but even as J.J. Abrams keeps his Star Wars Mystery Box (mostly) shut for the moment, rumors with varying levels of credibility just keep coming. One of the more prominent, and believable, sources for these reports so far is Badass Digest's Devin Faraci, and today he hit us with several new tidbits from his Star Wars sources. Some are intriguing little details of the world, while others could be major plot points, but they all seem plausible.

First, Faraci's got word of who legendary actor Max von Sydow will be playing in the film. Remember those reports of the film opening with the discovery of a lightsaber on a desert planet? Well, the weapon will apparently be picked up by a "blue alien guy" who'll take it to a salvage yard, where Daisy Ridley's character (who might be called "Kira") works. That's where von Sydow comes in as an "old cyborg dude" who "talks a lot of nonsense" until he sees the lightsaber, recognizes it, and starts talking about "the old days." Then he'll reportedly make a call to someone and let them know the lightsaber has been found, but if Faraci knows who's on the other end of that call, he's not telling. Oh, and another thing about Ridley's character: She's living in an old AT-AT walker that's lying on its side. Pretty neat pad.

Then there's the planet news. Remember a few weeks ago when we saw those aerial shots of X-Wings and the MIllennium Falcon at Greenham Common Air Base in the U.K.? According to Faraci's report, that location is meant to stand in for the Massassi Temple the Rebel Alliance was using as a secret base in Star Wars. So if this rumor proves true, it looks like we're going back to the site of the Rebellion's first major victory at Yavin IV.

Faraci also notes an interesting potential change for Chewbacca. Apparently there's concept art floating around that shows the Wookiee with "a cybernetic hand," carrying on the long Star Wars tradition of people losing their hands in battle. Faraci emphasizes that it's just concept art and that he doesn't know if it'll actually be in the film, but this is a franchise that likes slicing off appendages, so it's certainly plausible.

So that's a brand-new handful of Star Wars rumors for us to chew over (with a grain of salt, of course). What do you think? Do they seem likely?